There are enough factors to make Duke, the No. 1-ranked team in the East, an appealing choice to win the college basketball national championship. The pieces will be in place if freshman Cooper Flagg is back in action for the NCAA Tournament.
It's no mystery that Duke has been eyeing its status as a potential No. 1 regional seed for weeks. That's how it turned out as the Blue Devils landed the top spot in the East Region.
While Duke is no stranger to national championship aspirations, those became even more evident during the past week. When Flagg went down, the Blue Devils' dialogue came through crystal clear -- they were looking at the big picture. That means doing everything possible to ensure Flagg's return for the NCAAs.
The Blue Devils won three times in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament, but Flagg contributed only two points and sat out the last two games with a sprained ankle. Those results only strengthened the perception of what Duke is capable of accomplishing. "Cooper is a great player," freshman teammate Kon Knueppel said.
"But this is a great team. I think we've showed that, and we've really banded together." Coach Jon Scheyer acknowledges that the ultimate goal is the national title.
Forced to pivot publicly in that direction during the ACC tournament, the third-year coach pointed out that the main objective was to have Flagg ready for the NCAA Tournament. "I don't want to make any proclamations of what's success or not," Scheyer said. "For me, suc.
